Pottangi: A new round of tensions has surfaced in the disputed Kotia panchayat area of Koraput district as the Pottangi block administration launched an Aadhaar-based Know Your Customer (KYC) update drive, just weeks after a similar initiative by neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. The KYC drive, which began Thursday and will continue through Saturday, is targeting women in the border villages of Fatucinari, Upara Sembi and Phagun Senari— all within Kotia panchayat. Women were seen lining up outside Odisha-run primary schools and Anganwadi centres, holding Aadhaar cards for verification. Interestingly, officials have limited the drive to women beneficiaries, with no men included in the process. This selective approach has sparked local debate, especially as it closely follows a similar KYC update initiative by officials from Salur block in Andhra Pradesh in the village of Neredibalsa, targeting women residents in areas with mobile network access March 31. That event drew attention from the Odisha state government and district administrations in Koraput and Pottangi.
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The current effort by Odisha appears to be part of its Subhadra Yojana rollout, with 618 women identified for Aadhaar KYC updates, according to Pottangi Block Development Officer Ramakrushna Nayak. He said 324 updates were completed on the first day. The overlapping drives by both state governments have intensified focus on the longstanding territorial dispute in the Kotia region, raising questions about administrative authority and the political motivations behind citizen outreach programmes in the area.
